Clarus Wealth Advisors Invests $1.34 Million in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Clarus Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,398 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,338,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 112,158.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 150,187,424 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,017,948,000 after purchasing an additional 150,053,637 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $20,700,525,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35,465.9% during the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,611,140 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $66,852,000 after purchasing an additional 20,553,188 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 119,417,954 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,638,815,000 after acquiring an additional 14,652,150 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 348.6% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 11,998,927 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $894,426,000 after acquiring an additional 9,324,182 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $404.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $415.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $384.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.55, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $275.37 and a 52-week high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MSFT. Citigroup lowered their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp began coverage on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $432.13.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.